2010-01-28 - Rockets and Rogues
Setting: Harlem, Manhattan - New York City This borough begins just this side of Central Park in the south, extending up to the George Washington Bridge in the north. Once home to the "renaissance" of the 1920's, this is a place of modest brown or limestone brick dwellings. A few trees line the streets, particularly on back roads, and famous landmarks abound on boulevards named for such historic figures as Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas. This is an area which, though once in decline, has begun to reclaim some of its former glory. Some would say that there are few areas with the soul to match Harlem. On the east side of the area, though, things begin to decline. Once one passes Fifth Avenue, one enters the region formerly known as Hob's Bay. Named for a small inlet on the East River, this area is better known as Suicide Slum by locals. It is a rough part of town to rival some of Gotham City's worst neighborhoods, though many of its residents strive to make the place they live better despite their poverty. Begin Log It's sort of the south edge of Harlem, close to Central Park, where something odd is happening. A local street crook, fairly well known, can be seen running out of an alleyway like a thousand demons of hell are after him. Screaming like a little girl. That's quite enough to attract a certain amount of, well, attention. Guys like that don't scare easily. Oh...and his running has a certain issue to it. His pants keep falling down. A couple of blocks away, a teenager clad in red and blue with a famous S-Shield displayed on his chest is just finishing tying up some crooks of his own -- these being bank robbers who crashed their car /into/ said teenager. Once they were rounded up, he tore off the bumper of their car and used it to clamp them down against a street lamp until the police arrived. Hearing the sounds of screams, the dark-haired hero flashes a grin. "Sorry, guys. Love to stay and chat, but that sounds like duty callin' my name!" So, he hops into the air and does a large, swift loop to descend down towards the screaming crook in the alleyway. "Hey, hey! Relax, Mister Fallin' Britches. Superboy's here." Rocket actually isn't on Earth or in the area looking to so stop any criminal activity. Though given the belt of explosives and the chaingun strapped to his back, it's possible he could be looking to start a war. In fact, he wasn't even here a moment ago.... there was just a shimmer of energy in the alley way... and there was a jumpsuit clad Raccoon starring at the man charging towards him screaming like a girl and unable to keep his pants up. "Stupid Dog." Rocket grumbles as he kicks off the ground, igniting his rocket skates and quickly flys out of the fleeing man's path. Curious as to what is going on, the furry peacekeeper quickly flys after the fleeing man and grabs him by the back of the pants.... kicking his rocket skates into the other direction. "Woah, woah, woah. Where's the fire.... and did you drop your manhood on the sidewalk somewhere." Rocket reaches up with his free hand and rubs one of his ears. "Quit Screamin'!" Of course, here comes some other flying hairless ape into the area. "Superboy.... yeah, someone's ego isn't bein' fed." "Yeah, he did," comes a female voice. "It's right here." Legacy, coming out of the alleyway with her sword in one hand and a gun in the other. The man looks around, "I surrender!" One wonders what he did to deserve this treatment from the young heroine. Who has been seen on the news recently. Superboy, spotting Legacy, flashes a sudden grin. He drops to the ground and reaches over to pick up a length of discarded rubber tubing from amongst the various trash littering the alley. Approaching the terrified man, he says, "Well, I'll be happy to help the lady here get you under wraps... think you can keep your bladder control 'til the NYPD gets here?" Kon also glances over at Rocket, looking a bit surprised. "Whoa. Who gave the furball a bazooka?" Rocket doesn't really watch Earth TV. He does have a selection of Earth Movies he enjoys though, Beaches being a particular favorite. So her appearance is new to him, though he offers a snerk at the sword. Such an archaic weapon. Rocket releases the man's pants, flying over to hover next to Legacy and reaches out for the gun. "Generic.... " He rolls his eyes a bit. He's a gun fan, but he likes something a bit more elaborate. And powerful. Like the chaingun on his back. Pretty pretty bang bang. "Just knock him out. I'll do it. Just a nice klunk upside the head." Rocket whistles and plays unconscious for a moment. Rocket blinks at Superboy's reaction to him and smirks. "I left the bazooka at home." Rocket flys around to peer at the man in the face. He then whispers playfully in the gunman's ear. "You know, the first sign of serious mantal illness is seeing talking animals." "I'd say I hope he's learned that when shooting the superhero doesn't work, throwing the gun at her even more doesn't work...and that sometimes you *can* bring a sword to a gun fight." She seems pretty amused, right now, probably at the expense of the unfortunate villain. As Rocket does that, the guy shrieks again...and basically throws himself at Superboy. he knows THAT one won't hurt him. Poor guy. Superboy groans, rolling his eyes, as he catches the guy. "Sheesh. If I'm the Teen of Steel, you must be the Man of Jell-O. Okay, right -- you know the drill." One hand moving to take the guy by the collar, the other stays on the rubber tubing. Said tubing then snakes out to encircle the captive crook, trussing him up tightly to await arrest. "Sounds like you took him down pretty good," he says to Legacy, flashing that grin again. "Nice work!" To Rocket, Kon just peers uncertainly. "Y'know, uh, I don't know many talking animals, but I do know a flying dog...." Rocket kills the rocket skates, landing on the ground between Superboy and Legacy. He usually flys around, cause how short he is is now clearly obvious as he's looking up at the pair of them. But one can't just keep the skates firing forever. "I'd still rather bring a gun to a gun fight." Rocket pulls out one of his holstered blasters and pets it lovingly before reholstering it. Rocket rubs his forehead when Superboy makes mention of a flying dog. "Oh sure, more dogs. And now airborne ones. Probably Cosmo's sister or something." "Just as long as you don't...and hey, that gun's evidence...point any of those hand cannons at me." Sure...she can probably dodge, but being shot at once today is enough for Legacy. At least Rocket doesn't have to up QUITE so much at her. She sheaths the sword in one smooth motion. "Legacy," she introduces. "Cool," Superboy says in reply to Legacy, grinning. He ties the ends of the rubber tubing securely together, then hangs the crook from the lower end of a nearby fire escape ladder. "Okay, you just hang out for a bit. It won't be long before a nice policeman's here to take you someplace /very/ safe." He then brushes his hands against each other, offering one to Legacy. "Superboy," he pronounces, sounding a lot more confident than many guys his (apparent) age would when identifying themselves as "boy." As Rocket speaks again, Kon looks back to him. "Krypto's not a girl... but if you're lucky, he's being a good dog and staying home right now." Rocket watches Superboy hang the crook up from the fire escape, and strokes his chin. "And me without my trusty pinata bat." Rocket flashes a wide grin, before focusng his attention back to Legacy and Superboy. "Krypto. Cosmo. A dog by any other name would still chap my furry ass." He rubs his hands over the top of his head and swishes his bushy tail. "Rocket. Rocket Raccoon. Rocky, if you prefer." Legacy shakes her head. "I thought I was the one in the crazy mood. Or is it permanently crazy?" She flickers the raccoon a grin. Yeah, she's in a good mood. An easy catch, perhaps, has put her that way. "It's really cool to meet you, Superboy." Grin widening a bit, Superboy says, "Y'know, funnily enough, I've heard that before? I don't get what the big deal is, personally, but I'm always happy to have a fan -- or better yet, a friend!" Shaking his head at Rocket, Kon notes, "Well, Rocky, I don't think shooting your mouth -- or your pop-gun -- off at Krypto would be a good idea. He doesn't really understand talking, but he has a way of telling when people aren't friendly." Rocket huffs, flipping his fluffy tail just a bit in reaction to Kon's comments. "That's why I have grenades." Rocket offers the teen of steel a grin, patting one of the cylinder shaped grenades on his belt. Like the chain gun, blasters, and rocket skates they're clearly advanced technology. The chain gun has to especially be light, considering how big it is. "But as long as he doesn't mess with me, we're cool." "I've heard you're pretty good," Legacy admits. She's not doing too bad herself, although she could never keep up with the Kryptonian hybrid in powers. "And you have a super-powered dog? Remind me...milkbones." A flickered grin. Shaking his head, Kon says, "Careful, he'll eat a whole box before you can say 'heel.' He's pretty grande with the munchies." Still, his eyes return that flicker of hinted mirth. "Don't worry, Rocks," he asides to Rocky, "Krypto's cool. He's just really... protective, y'know? Just don't hurt his People, and you'll probably get along fine. He hardly ever chases small animals anymore." Rocket just hmphs just a bit. "Who you callin' small..." Rocket mutters to himself, kicking off on his rocket skates again... so he can hover at eye level with the pair of hero types. "Milkbones you say? Maybe I should take a box back for the mutt. Maybe he'd start being more careful with the beaming." Rocket eyes Superboy a bit, looking him over... especially the S-Shield. It's familiar. Legacy isn't that tall. "I would think a flying dog would prefer pigeon, anyway." Of course, was Kon even talking about the raccoon? "You're probably a bit big for him to eat." Maybe that will get the ego back into place. Maybe? Kon busts out laughing at the concept of Krypto eating Rocket. "I was talkin' about cats and stuff, but -- nah, no way! He'd chase you for /fun/, wanting to play. He's not an attack dog or anything. He gets the stuff out of the can, and he constantly begs for people food. He's just a dog... who happens to be from Krypton." Rocket still chooses to remain flying.... shifting his hovering position just a bit so that he's not just hovering in one spot. It's the flying raccoon equivalent of rocking back and forth in place. "Yeah, well.... you wouldn't think he was so innocent if you'd met Cosmo." Rocket notes, flying over to land atop a dumpster, rather than keep his rocket skates firing longer. "Just because they're both dogs doesn't mean they're both the same. And I wonder how far you can throw a frisbee for a superdog," Legacy muses, rather thoughtful in her tone now. Shaking his head, Kon says, "Hey, Krypto's not mean to anybody... even the mailman!" He shakes his head, folding his arms across his chest. At Legacy's question, he notes, "Well, let's just say... I'm pretty sure he could bring one back from the Moon without too much trouble. /Not/ that I can throw that far." "Maybe...." Rocket offers to Legacy. Honestly, while Rocket and Cosmo do rub each other the wrong way, there's a part of them that cares for the other. But then, Cosmo isn't Rocket's strangest 'Friend'. Rocket keeps studying the S-Crest on Superboy's costume. "Do I know your Dad or something?" Legacy hrms. "I don't think you'd want to. He might fetch a comsat by mistake." Ow. What an unpleasant thought. Kon winces at the mere suggestion of Krypto fetching satellites. "We've tried pretty hard to teach him not to chase things unless he's told to. I mean, he's a pretty well-behaved dog. Just, most dogs don't claw through the door when they just want to scratch to be let inside." Again to Rocket, he makes a bit of a face. "I'm guessin' you mean Superman? He's not exactly my /dad/, but we're definitely related." "I heard a rumor he was like your...cousin or something," Legacy notes, stretching a little bit. She doesn't have a connection to an older superhero like that...which is part of why she's trying to build connections. As many as she can. Rocket ahhs and nods. "Yeah, Superman. Name needs some work... but yeah, I ran into him before. He caught my ship when I almost crashed into this Disney place. Well..... tried to catch it. It kinda fell apart." Rocket grins and shrugs his shoulders. "When ya see him again, toss him a Hi." Nodding slowly, Kon says, "Sure... wait, you almost crashed into Disneyland?" He looks horrified at the mere notion. He's so put off he doesn't even think to respond to the rumors about his genetic relationship to Superman or the dispersions being cast on the hero's name. Legacy wouldn't insult anyone's name. She doesn't consider hers to be that great. "I'd better get going. School night and *I* can't fly." She's gonna have to hurry to get home, at this point. Well, it's not like Rocket can really talk. His name is Rocket Raccoon.... can't get much more on the nose than that. He's just a bit snarky, not trying to disperage the hero. "Yeah... I guess that was the place. The one in ... Florida." He grins just a bit, and rubs his right ear. "I'd offer to give you a flight home, but I think Supey here prolly would have an easier time." Quirking an eyebrow, Kon shakes his head at Rocket. "How do you know she wants me to? Maybe she's got a secret ID to protect or something! Not everyone wants people showing up on their doorstep." Looking back to Legacy, though, he adds, "But I could drop you at the nearest air cab station if you want?" "I do have a secret identity. I'll be fine. It's not that late yet...but thanks for the offer." She slips off into the night. As best she can, given her costume is red. ---- Category:Logs